In Australia, the Grassland Fire Danger Index is determined by a number of inputs including an essential component, the degree of grassland curing (senescence).  In Victoria, techniques used for curing assessment have varied over the years from the use of ground-based visual observations to the use of satellite imagery.  Both techniques alone have inherent limitations.  Ground-based observations are limited in their accuracy and in their spatial coverage and temporal frequency.  Satellite imagery may exhibit inaccuracies caused by cloud cover or by land-cover attributes such as water-bodies, forests, and even secondary growth in grasslands. 

This paper presents the development of an improved technique for estimating the degree of curing that entails the use of satellite observations adjusted by observations from the ground.  First, a satellite model was derived, named MapVictoria, based on historical satellite and ground-based observations.  Then, with use of the new satellite model, an integrated model was developed, named the Victorian Improved Satellite Curing Algorithm (VISCA), combining near real-time satellite data with weekly observations of curing from the ground.  At the beginning of the 2013/2014 fire season, the integrated model was deployed in operations for accurate fire danger calculations of grasslands in Victoria.